The Doomed Caravan - RPLOG
Participants
Date
27/2/479
Log
From the look on the gopher-being's eyes it was clear the mission was urgent. He did not bother to produce a proper job posting, but rather burst into the Freeswords' with an offer of coin for those willing to head to Salttide Swamp as quickly as possible. The details were explained in a hurry, the merchant pushing the mercenaries who accepted his job into a wagon to carry them there with the wind's haste.
The story was a familiar one. A caravan on it's way back from the far western reaches of Sweetwater had run afoul of bandits lurking in the swamp looking for easy prey. As luck would have it one of the caravaneers managed to escape in the chaos of the panicked defense and made the days-long trek to Firmament on foot with report of what he had seen.
Unusual was the revelation that came after. The merchant's own son was in the doomed caravan, and the panicked rodent pleaded with the Freeswords to find the caravan and rescue him at any cost. "He's a brave boy. He will have fought them back." He says. It seems the caravan was escorted and armed, and it is likely a conflict took place, but if the caravan has not made it back yet, then it is but a guarantee that things did not go the young gopher's way.
As the Freeswords' ox-drawn wagon rolls up the boardwalk and turns into Salttide to follow the overgrown path which the doomed caravan had taken, the oppressive and thick scents of the deep swamp begin to assault the beings' senses. The ambush place is not too far ahead, and they will arrive there soon.
Aloysius was passing through the Freeswords' inn when he saw this panicked gopher. The young squirrel had nothing to lose and was not busy so he decided to tag along with the gopher.
The youngling decided to sit next to the driver and spent the long journey reading from a book he had with him, nothing else to do. When the wagon finally enters the swamp, the squirrel stands up and takes a deep breath, "So this is the Saltide swamp? Fascinating." the squirrel says in a distinctive trill that any well-travelled being can trace back to the Andrussian territories. "So, do you remember how many bandits attacked you? And is it normal to be ambushed around here? This place does not strike me as well-travelled by caravans."
Molly had only come in for a drink, but stopped to chat with her otter companions before the gopher made his rush into the inn, and she eagerly followed the opportunity. Over the course of their journey, however, she's become less enthusiastic about the adventure - now sitting in the wagon and fiddling with her bonnet, occasionally glancing up to look out. "We're close," she whispers aside to the others in the wagon, following it with a sigh of relief.
Lucas was enjoying himelf a nice glass of watermelon juice and a bowl of seeds when the gopher came in. He was clearly reluctant at first when the gopher made his request, but after a moment's deliberation he joined, desiring to help a man, sympathetic to his lost son. He sat in the back of the wagon, idly checking his weapons as they rolled along. "I hope things don't get too violent this time. Things were absolutely savage the last time I had to deal with bandits."
"Eh, wha?" murmurs the other otter, Levin, as he raises his head up from his knees with a tired grunt. For the last few nights, Levin had been prowling the city's streets on a quest for information - Information on a series of murders which seemed to be far more complicated then they first appear. All he wanted was a quick drink with his friend and new apprentice, Molly, before turning in for the day when the gopher came rushing into the bar. "Oh, yeah, yeah - It'll be fine, don't worry. Bandits scamper off when ever they see freeswords a comin', trust me." he says as he puts on his best grin for Lucas.
Gideon sits quietly in the back of the wagon, his hands resting on his knees and his eyes half closed in the easy doze of an experienced campaigner as the wagon jerks and bounces along. He had been supervising a supply delivery for the Cinderglow estate when the poor gopher had burst in and had offered his services on behalf of the ladies Solacious. He finally stirs as they enter the swamp. He takes a deep breath of the damp, rotting swamp air. "Ah, homey," he says in a deep, smooth voice.
The driver looks to the squirrel sitting next to him. "I was not in the caravan, myself. But the boy that escaped said there were a dozen of them." He shakes his head. "Ambushes are uncommon here, and caravans.. are more so. It's a convenient shortcut when making the trek from Cliffside, but what you gain in days you lose in having to deal with the local wildlife." He shakes his head. "Anything to shave a few precious days off the trek...."
The wagon comes to a stop with a cry from the driver as he spots ahead the ambush site. A few meters ahead from where the wagon stopped is a body, face-down in the dirt, a pair of arrows sticking out of his back. Further on is the caravan, a pair of wagons that were riding single file across the narrow path. The beasts of burden that were pulling the wagons did not fare well. Two are missing, and the other two lay slain on the ground, their bodies mangled. "I think I'll stay here..." calls out the driver on a low voice, looking around nervously. "You do what you need to do."
The soil here is not as unsteady as the rest of the swamp, this being one of the few paths that a caravan could take without getting bogged down. All around can be heard the buzzing sounds of insects and the eerie echoes of distant sounds warped as they travel through the crooked landscape. Odd flickers of light can be seen sometimes, distant and obfuscated by the light fog that permeates the area.
The squirrel nodded his head at the gopher and shrugged, "very well, it appears that we have to search this area." the rodent adds as he takes off his hat and sets it where he was seated. Aloysius then jumps off the wagon and begin walking towards the under brush, "Anyone is familiar with this area then?" he asks before disappearing into the under brush. Out of view, the squirrel lowers himself and begins sneaking around the area looking for evidence of bandits or even if they are still here.
Molly glances back and forth between Lucas and Levin, letting out a quiet whimper at their conversation as she slouches down. She jolts up straight again at the stop of the wagon, craning her neck to get a look outside after she's stood up. "I sure hope you're right, Levin.." she mumbles, tapping the toe of her boot against the floor and stuffing her nice bonnet away into her bag. She climbs out of the wagon after the squirrel, glancing around with a frown. She just steps aside and awaits one of her companions.
"It probably will be," Lucas said to the rabbit, brow raising as the cart slowed to a stop. He sheathed his dagger and pulled out a pistol, drawing himself towards the front of the cart, looking out from behind the curtain between the pair riding in the front. He grimaced and sighed, pulling his head back to walk out of the back of the wagon, patting the others on the shoulder as he passed. "Come on, we got something out there. Be on your guard."
Levin gives a few quick nods of approval before hopping out of the wagon, his landing far from graceful as he stumbles on his landing. "Oph- This ain't a good day for this. I brought enough pistols to make up for that though." The otter gives his weapons a quick check right there and then - he had a pair of daggers strapped to his hips, and another hidden away in his boot, but a far more menacing set of weapons, a trio of loaded pistols, rest against his chest on a leather bandoleer. "Now lil miss, don't you go wandering off on your own - We should work in pairs at the very least, makes it harder for them to pick us off."
Gideon climbs out after the others and paces quietly along. Despite his outlandish mask and the fine cut and make of his clothing, there is something about the elephant that makes the eyes glance off of him. The dark eyes looking out from his bone white mask somehow meld with the dappled light of the sun filtering through the canopy. Not that he is hard to see. He is the elephant in the room, after all. It is just that he seems more a part of the scenery than a person.
He walks smoothly and quietly toward the ravaged caravan, eyes flickering to the sides as he goes, even scanning the canopy of the swampy forest. It looks like, even dressed as he is, he is no stranger to shady dealings in the swamps.
As the squirrel being slinks out of the main path he finds his feet sinking slightly onto the soft ground. It seems this path draws a fine line across the boggy area, and just a few meters away from the road pools of stagnant water can be seen shimmering in the dim light that filters through the canopy. Walking in this area takes a bit of effort, and it's not long until Aloysius finds himself having to pull his feet up out of the earthen sludge that the topsoil has become. The ground squelches loudly, but does not seem to attract the attention of anyone... yet.
As the other four beings near the wagon they cross the vicinity of the fallen body. It was clearly a being, a budgerigar, his colourful feathers sticking out from underneath the hat he's wearing.
Nearer to the wagon one of the fallen draft horses is in a similar state. Even without looking close the cause of death is apparent: A thick wood axe has been driven into it's neck, and now lies next to the poor animal.
As the elephant nears the wrecked caravan he spots two more bodies. One was the wagon's driver. He's fallen to his side, lying completely on his bench rather than sitting. His cause of death is not immediately apparent. Another body belongs to a small canine being, lying against a tree just off the road, a trail of footsteps leading back to the trailing wagon.
The squirrel nibbles his lower lip, showing off his cute buckteeth, before sighing, looks like he will have to clean his clothes soon again. The squirrel hopes than none has heard his noisy march, but either way decides to fix this issue by projecting some earth magic to the ground underneath him, making sure that the ground solidifies underneath every step.
Molly struggles with her heavy boots, squishing through the soft swamp dirt as she approaches the caravan after Gideon. "..That ain't right," she comments, looking over the fallen beings beside the wagon and shaking her head. She drags her feet through the mud to approach the small canine beside the road, giving the occasional glance back at the others with her as she does so.
Lucas grits his teeth as they survey the damage, drawing back the hammer on his pistol as he pulls out his sword as well. "This is a fucking masacre," he says darkly, leveling his pistol as he scans for anyone that might be around them. His eyes galnce to Molly. "If you got any weapons I'd get them out. Don't want to be caught with our pants down." He draws himself to the wagon's driver, using a flat edge of his blade to roll over for any discernable markings.
Levin "Yeah, it's pretty bad." Levin grumbles back as he slowly makes his way towards the last unattended body - the budgerigar. He glances over his shoulder, back to his fellow freeswords, as he's just about to make it to the body, the otter letting out a heavy sigh and a curse under his breath as he kneels down next to it. "It looks fresh at a glance." he mumbles as he starts reaching down to the corpse "Shame, I always hate seein' feathered folk like this. A damn shame."
"Is it?" Gideon asks Lucas, reaching into his coat and pulling out a. . . spoon? The elephant shakes his head, setting his huge ears gently flapping. "This is no bandit attack," he says, "Look at this. This is what a townie -thinks- the aftermath of a bandit attack looks like. Bandits worth their salt don't destroy wagons or animals. They are worth more gold than most cargo! And these bodies are posed where they lie. In the road. Where they can be found." He gives the clearing a quick scan. "In fact," he says, noting the wreckage barring the road, and the wagon parked behind them, and the sludgy pits on either side of the trail, "This looks much more like a bandit ambush." The elephant watches the others warily and moves gracefully toward the lead wagon, presenting as little of a target as his tall, thin form can manage.
As the squirrel being takes his next step it comes much more silent, the topsoil seemingly hardening as he steps, and softening again as he walks away. There is a flicker of light from his right, a brief glimpse of green, before it vanishes just as quick.
Silence remains over the area as the group fans out to check the bodies...
The squirrel's ears perk as he notices the green light before he gives the area around him a glance. Not wanting to alert anyone on the other side, Aloysius continues his march, slowly turning to the right as he does so; before long, he is heading directly towards the source of the light. However, the squirrel then quickly turns towards the nearest extra bushy areas, aiming to lose any one who was possibly tailing him.
"Oh, this is just sick.." the rabbit groans, turning her head away from the dog after her examination. "He- he has a bow, do I take it?" she asks. She hesitates briefly before she snatches it up, pulling away as though afraid the corpse may try to take it back from her. The girl hurries to her feet and sloshes her way back to the road to move beside Lucas, looking Gideon over with a troubled gaze before her eyes dart out to peer into the swamp.
Lucas winces as he sees the blood covering the bat being's clothes. He holsters his pistol and sword, pulling out his dagger to cut away the clothes on the being. His fingers prod at the holes, sneering and shaking his head. "This is... disgusting." He looks back to the elephant and shook his head. "Bandit attack or not, Poor fucker had to suffer. There are a ton of stabs here, cuts that... don't know what they were doing. Does't look like they used a proper knife, must have been something from a kitchen, just barely sharp enough to cut." He stepped back, using his knife to cut at the fabric covering the wrecked wagon and tearing it off, drawing it over the deceased bat and stepping back. "So if this isn't a bandit attack... you think the gopher's son was involved? I mean, the driver here looks like he was killed in self defense, someone who didn't know what they were doing."
Levin furrows his brow as Gideon's words reach his ears. "That's crazy," he mumbles under his breath as he continues to examine the body "This body's perfect - He was nicked in the arm, there's a blood trail and..." The otter then pauses for a moment as cogs start to turn in his head and, after a few moments, he lets out an exasperated "Well fuck." With a huff the otter pushes himself up to his feet, his hand darting to one of the pistols braced against his chest. "Big guy might be right - I just realized somethin'... This place is known more for the animals then the bandits, right? Why ain't these bodies picked at yet? The blood should have attracted some scavengers by now at the very least, right?" With another huff the otter steps back, his eyes darting about the surrounding foliage. "Fuck, you got me paranoid now."
Gideon moves quickly and quietly along, though, at this point, his movements seem to be more the wind through the trees, or a trick of the light as even color seems to fade from his form. He slips to the trailing wagon and flips the canvas aside to peek inside, checking its contents. He does not speak to answer the others, he seems quite focused on what he is doing. For some reason, he still has that spoon in his hand.
As Gideon peers into the trailing wagon, it becomes clear this was the supply wagon for the caravan itself. There are crates stacked up neatly on both sides of the vehicle's cargo platform, and in the open area in the middle there's... another body. A muskrat, bound and tied in place with rope, face down on the wagon's floor. He's very dead, his skull having been caved in with some kind of blunt object, blood pooled all around him. In addition to the scent of death there is another, fragrant aroma, coming from a thick cooking pot stored in the back of the wagon. This wagon's driver is missing, and it's only with some searching that one finds the trail of footsteps leading to the canine body that Molly had just finished examining.
The squirrel being continues his trip away from the main group, chasing that odd flickering light. As he steps past a particularly thick wall of overgrown brush he is suddenly faced with a small pod of Mudscuttlers. The crab-like creatures don't appear to have spotted him, one of them pacing lazily across as the others simply idle around. It's only after a few moments of observation that Aloysius spots the deceased being half-submerged in the pool of muck that the Mudscuttlers call home. Or at least what's left of a being...
The squirrel being quirks a brow as he sees the mudscuttlers and what appears to be another body. The squirrel decides against investigating the body, mudscuttlers might be docile creatures but they are also territorial and he was not in the mood to fight a dozen of them. Aloysius looks around, spotting the tallest nearby tree, well this looks like the place he saw the light coming from. The young being decides to get a better view of the area and begins to climb up the tree, taking out Sword-breaker and Mercy to help him in his endeavour if the bark proves too slippery.
Molly looks down at the bow in her hand, glancing back to the dog and down to the budgie bird. "Maybe the dog shot the bird?" she proposes, holding up her bow. "The arrows look the same.. but so do all arrows, I guess.." She sighs. Looking back to the dog's corpse, she recalls the trail of footsteps not made by the sloshing of her own heavy boots, splashing through the mud as she returns to find the trail on the road.. leading her back to the wagon that Gideon's investigating. She gasps softly as she spots the elephant, looking up from the trail to see him looking into the wagon. "Oh, there you are.." she mumbles. Leaning over to peek in as well, she winces at the sight of the muskrat. "Both the ones from this wagon got their heads smashed, and the dog's got his body done up some, too.." she calls out to the others, giving a worried glance around after having lost track of the squirrel.
Lucas grits his teeth, sheathing his dagger again and pulling out his pistol and sword once more. He watches the squirrel climb the tree and raises an eyebrow. "I'm really not liking the looks of this." He looks at the leading wagon and clicks his tongue at Levin. "Mind coming over here and covering my back? I want to take a closer look into the wagon," he asked, peeking into the wagon from the hole he created with covering he cut off, then walked to the back of the wagon.
Levin draws in a sharp breath before he responds to Lucas with a quick nod of his head as he calls out "Yeah, sure thing." This lack of sleep was really getting to him. He gives himself a few quick smacks to his cheek as he tries to smack some alertness into himself as he makes his way to his fellow otter, his hand still resting on the handle of a pistol, ready for action as much as someone as sleep deprived as he is can be.
Gideon frowns and looks around. "The cargo is all still here," he says quietly, "There was butchery, then they just left." He nods at the bound muskrat. "And he was already bound and gagged when he died. What is missing from the wagons? Who is out here in the swamps that was happy to kill everyone, then leave everything here?" The elephant hauls himself into the wagon and starts to search about more thoroughly, checking the cargo and the dead occupant of the wagon with a rather frightening detatchedness, as if dealing with a dead body were nothing out of the ordinary.
As Levin and Lucas poke around on the lead wagon they find it to be frighteningly intact. There is an arrow stuck to its rear wheel, seemingly having been fired from somewhere near the trailing wagon, but otherwise this wagon is in ship-shape condition. The crates inside are still sealed, and propping one open reveals an assortment of well-packed knick-knacks brought over from Cliffside. The burlap sacks are filled with spices and herbs, likely bought from Cliffside as imports from somewhere even more distant like Andrussya. There is no sign that this wagon has been looted at all.
In the trailing wagon, Gideon's contines to methodically analyze the contents. As he goes from crate to sack he realizes that every single one is empty, or nearly-empty. This caravan had naught but scraps left out of its supplies. Even worse, some of the crates in the trailing wagon have been filled with small statuettes and other knick-knacks, cargo rather than supplies. The trailing wagon is also the home of the caravan's tools, and the crockery is of particular interest to the elephant as he notices the odd residue left on one of the cooking pots, and on some of the plates and implements.
As the squirrel finishes his ascend he is met with the source of the green light. A small, billowing cloud of animate swamp gas, a Wisp! It flows impossibly, bubbling in the air like boiling water rather than dissipating. As the squirrel and the gas-thing face each other the Wisp billows and flashes brightly, bursting with a loud *bang!* that takes away a large portion of its remaining mass. The bang echoes across the swamp, and from down below the scuttling crab-creatures rise up, their claws snapping at the air as they look for the source of what they percieve as a threat.
The squirrel being continues his climb upwards before he is met with the wisp face to face. The young squirrel quirks a brow before the wisp blows in his face. "A pungent smell, reminds me of the mange square in Firmament." Aloysius quips to no one in particular as his tail coils around the tree's stem. The squirrel takes a seat on the branch the wisp was on a moment ago before looking at the wisp again, "Scram would you kindly?" he says as he decides to forcefully dissipate the gas by moving it using air magic, attempting to tear the wisp apart, definitely a much safer option than hitting it with fire magic, who knows how explosive the gas inside is?
Molly jumps at the distant bang, twirling around on her feet to look out in all directions. "Whassat?!" she says in a panic, clenching her fists and slouching down low as she scurries back over to the leading wagon, anxiously fidgeting beside the otters as they investigate, lifting her boots up and squishing them down in the mud repeatedly.
Lucas rubs at the back of his neck with the barrel of his gun as he pulls away from the cart. "This is the damndest thing," he said, walking back towards Levin. He looks to the other cart then back to Levin. His muzzle opens to speak only to hear the bang. His fur bristles and he draws the arm holding his sword underneath his pistol arm, steading the aim of his firearm as his eyes scan their surroundings. "What was that? You see anything Levin? Molly, how about you?" He grits his teeth and looks to the cart they came from. "Maybe we should return to the cart if we can."
Levin winces as he hears the bang ring through the air, his instincts kicking in as he takes Lucas by the shoulder and tugs him back to the cart he was just examining, pulling him down low with him as as he settles in with his back against the wagon. "Oi, quiet now. That sounded like a gunshot - Not sure though. What ever it was, it's gunna bring some attention to us for sure." Gritting his teeth, Levin yanks a pistol out of his bandolier and gestures towards Molly. "Now, I don't know about you, but I don't think the lil' miss should be alone right now. Move in quick, stay low, I'll watch your tail - Sound good?"
Gideon gently cuts the dead muskrat's bindingings and lifts him carefully. He sniffs distastefully at the film on the dishes and plucks a piece with a particularly noteable bit of the stuff out with a gloved hand before slipping out of the wagon. "This is not food," he says, "And it is very likely to be poison." He holds it out to the others, for their perusal. He is beginning to have his suspicions about this bandit ambush, but it still doesn't explain why that muskrat being was tied up. He walks slowly and carefully to where the budgie lies dead in the road and lays the muskrat beside him. He shows little interest in the call to arms, but continues to carefully gather the dead into one place. One thing at a time.
The wisp flows fluidly towards Aloysius' face, seeking to engulf him as it boils and shimmers. The agile squirrel ducks under it however, catching a thick breathful of the stinky swamp stench that follows the wisp everywhere, but avoiding any damage from actually inhaling the foul living thing. It flashes bright green as it reforms, ready to strike again.
As Molly, Lucas and Levin draw together they see the bright flash in the distance, briefly illuminating the forest canopy in that direction.
Molly and Gideon both have their chance to examine the strange residue. The former identifies it as a caked-on emulsion, fine particles of.. something that were not fully dissolved into whichever liquid was in the pot as it was being boiled. In it's current state it's sticky, but when compressed it becomes powdery and brittle, but it stinks with an incredibly sweet, cloying scent that turns the stomach. It bears all the hallmarks of crushed fibrous material. A plant maybe.
The squirrel leans backwards as the wisp comes for him, still in his seated position, "You are rather rude, good creature." he quips as more math equations get resoled in his brain as the squirrel being attempts the previous attack again, tearing the gas apart and keeping it that way.
Molly bites her lip, narrowing her eyes at the evidence that Gideon shows off to them. "Huh, why.. maybe that stuff made the dog shoot the bird, and.. and someone else smashed the two of them up? But.. you don't just smash up a being all tied up," she says, frowning and shaking her head as he starts to pile up the bodies. "What are you doing?" She glances back at the cautious otters, and, noting that the more careless Gideon hasn't been struck down, steps out to look over the pile - though, she darts back to them as she spots the distant flash. "There's somethin' goin on! We need ta go look, that squirrel's gone missin'!"
Lucas nodded his head. "it did sound like a gunshot, but where did it come from. Why is no one hit?" The second flash catches his attention. He furrows his brow and stands up straight. "That didn't seem like gunfire. Too bright..." He looks to Molly and nods his ead. "I don't see him anywhere around here." His tail nudges at Levin, nodding his head towards the flash. "Let's go check out the bang." He clicks his tongue at molly. "Stay close, don't want you to get hurt Mol."
Gideon waves a thin, gloved hand at Molly. "I am certain they can tend to themselves," he says, "Running off into the swamp will honestly do us little good. Besides, have you heard a cry for help?" He lets the others run off as he finishes laying out the dead members of the caravan and waves to the merchant who invited them. "Can you identify these beings?" he asks, a more certain picture forming in his mind as he contemplates the sticky plate.
Under the magical assault the wisp finally dissipates, leaving behind it naught but a cloud of stinky swamp gas. As the bubbling creature vanishes, its eerie noise no longer drowns out the clicking of claws and scuttling about that the crab creatures beneath the squirrel are making.
This is the state Molly, Levin and Lucas find the muck pit in, although if they get any closer they are likely to attract the attention of the angry mudscuttlers.
The merchant is very reluctant at first to go and inspect the bodies. At Gideon's insistence he walks over and nods as he confirms the identity of each one. "Jonah." He says, looking at the canine being. "He's.. he's one of our hired hands. Him I recognize too." He says, pointing at the avian being. "He was the leader of the guards we hired for this caravan. I assume these are the rest of the guard. Oh Saints preserve us, what happened to these poor beings.."
Aloysius shakes his head, "Good day, sir. I said good day." he tells the wisp as it finally dissipates. The squirrel being using more simple air maths to push away the stinky gases and get some fresh air at last.
Spotting the members of the group who came this way, the squirrel being gently rustles the branch he is sitting on before pointing at the muck pit, "Body." he says just loud enough to be heard before he finally focuses his efforts and scanning the visible portions of the swamp underneath for movement or other signs of beings or the caravan.
"Just because he didn't have time to cry out doesn't mean he isn't in trouble!" Molly protests, jaw hanging open in disbelief at the elephant. The girl scurries through the mud to Lucas' side, brushing against his tail as she shuffles behind him. She opens her satchel and digs out a mean looking pair of knuckles, which she slides onto her fingers. "Look'em," she whispers to the otters, pointing at the angry scuttlers.
Lucas walks with Molly close, his tail drawinng her behind him as they walk. He looks up to see the squirrel as they come to the tree, raising an eyebrow then covering his nose at the smell in the hair. The bunny's words and Aloysius' direction draws his direction down. He pulls himself and Molly behind the tree, eyes squinting as he tries to look at the body. His head shakes and sighs. "We gotta see who that is. I might dread the idea, but it might be our employeer's son," he says in a hushed tone. He looks back to Molly. "You think you can hold your own if you need to fight one of them? I'm tempted to take a shot."
Gideon points at the plate. "Your men seem to have sampled some of the local produce to poor effect," the elephant says, the model of a helpful servant, "I believe that they happened to each other. Though I still cannot account for everything. How many more are missing?"
The gopher being is visibly shaken by Gideon's words, but doesn't add any further comment. "My son is missing." He shakes his head. "I.. there was another one. Andrei. A leopard. He was - is a hired hand as well." The gopher's voice trembles as he corrects himself.
With the beings staying so close to their muck pit, the mudscuttlers begin move in their direction, clacking their pincered claws. It seems a confrontation will happen unless the beings back off!
Aloysius continues scanning his surroundings, pursing his lips before looking down again. Seeing that the mudscuttlers were busy with the other members of the group, he smirks and gets off the branch before swiftly sliding down the tree, using his tail for leverage, and landing on the ground with a soft 'thump'.
The young being then quickly circles around the mudscuttlers who are already facing the other direction, giving the group a smirk and a short bow as he continues north towards a rather bushy area. The squirrel pushes some of the flora away and disappears into the bushes, using a bit of fire magic to illuminate the cavelet hidden behind.
Molly fidgets, looking up at Lucas and then further up to the squirrel. "..Maybe..?" she says, pulling her knuckles securely to her hands and clenching her fists. "Yeah!" She tenses up as the scuttlers scuttle closer, adjusting her footing in the mud and getting poised for punching! Though, seeing the squirrel leaving them behind leaves her with an unenthused frown.
Lucas sneers as the mudscuttlers start to approach, head turning back to Molly to say, "Okay, just try to stay behind me. No offense, but you seem a little green and I don't want those cute ears and adorable cottontain to get hurt." His gun aims at one of the mudscuttlers and he holds his breath, firing a round at one of them before holstering the spent pistol and drawing his dagger, readying himself for closer ranged combat.
"I am sorry I could not give you better news, sir," the elephant says, "But you will find that your shipment is intact. And we have not yet found your son. There is a chance he escaped." Or, of course, that he was the missing piece that could explain all of this. The graceful elephant takes a moment to carefully examine each body one last time, and to walk carefully around the clearing to check for tracks leading away in any direction other than the one the others have run off too. Someone had to maintain an air of professionalism, after all.
Lucas' shot hits one of the charging mudscuttlers dead-center, the bullet going straight through the thinner shell near the creature's eyes and felling the creature in one blow. Molly retains her defensive stance, but as one of the crab-creatures comes close enough she leaps forward and punches it's side. The blunt knuckles are the perfect instrument to crack a hard shell, and the follow-up burst of flame widens the crack and leaves the creature heavily wounded (and burning). The loud noise and the demise of two of their own has two of the mudscuttlers scrambling off, easily startled, but the last one charges at Lucas, its pincer swishing through the air and striking at.. nothing. Where Lucas was but a split second before is now empty air, the otter using a combination of agility and air mathemagic to tumble away almost too fast for the eye to see.
Gideon's search is met with two sets of tracks. Two beings have paced away northwards, towards where Levin, Lucas, Molly and Aloysius have gone. The second set of tracks follows the road towards Firmament, presumably from the one being who escaped to tell the tale of what happened here.
As Aloysius illuminates the inside of the cave with a controlled flame, he's met with the sight of a small group of mudscuttlers. They are immobile, their limbs tucked close to their shells. Seems this is a sleeping area. The shallow cavelet is low enough at the front that Aloysius has to bend down slightly so as not to hit his head, but it widens as it goes deeper. There, on an alcove, the light from the squirrel's magical flame catches a glint of something metallic, and as he waves the flame in that direction he sees the clear outline of another being, curled up in the fetal position.
The squirrel squints as he sees more mudscuttlers, well at least they are asleep. As his exploration continues, Aloysius purses his lips and focuses his gaze on the being in the fetal position. Pondering his options, Aloysius decides to see if the being is lucid enough to comprehend instructions. He whispers to not wake up the mudscuttlers, "Relax there good being. I am part of the rescue party sent here by your employer. Can you move towards me or do you need help? Also do be careful we don't want to wake up the mudscuttlers."
Molly gasps, a grin coming over her face at the cracked shell of the creature. "Yeah!" she cries, in aan uncharacteristically deep, aggressive tone. Snapping out of it, she looks around for Lucas and spots the final mudscuttler, rearing back to throw another flaming punch into it!
Lucas grins widely, gripping at his rapier tight. "Good job taking out that one Molly!" Seeing the last mudscuttler being attacked by Molly, he decides to ensure her safety, using another burst of air to change the direction with which he comes at the creature. He aims the tip at a gap between the plates, razor sharp edge thrusting fast as he lunges with the sword to finish off the creature.
His search completed, Gideon follows the fleeing footprints cautiously into the bog after the others, looking for hints or clues as to what happened, and not only where the fleeing beings went, until he makes his way to where the others are.
The being inside the cavelet remains unresponsive. From this distance he appears to be perfectly still. He's holding something metallic in his hands, it glints every time Aloysius' flame illuminates it just right.
The rabbit's punch is true, but the scuttler's thick shell is more than capable of withstanding it. Still, it staggers him, and sets up the creature to be cleanly executed by the agile otter being. Lucas' rapier perfectly slices into the mudscuttler's plates. The creature flails as it loses control of its limbs, and collapses back onto the muck pool that was it's home.
The squirrel being shakes his head and slowly sneaks towards the cowering being, trying to juggle between avoiding the mudscuttlers, keeping an unthreatening posture to avoid scaring the being, admittedly a simpler task for the young squirrel, and also staying on guard in case the being turns out to be aggressive as well.
Molly looks down at the mess of dead muscuttler, her grin dropping instantly. "Oh, no.. we killed them. She looks down at the body in the muck. "Can you look..? I don't want to touch it!" she says, gagging at the remains before she turns to Lucas.
Lucas pulls his rapier from the fallen mudscuttler, wiping the blade on his shirt sleeve before sheathing it. "Don't worry Molly, we'll pull it out, take it back with us. Might be able to use it's shell for arm, maybe make something from it's meat." He starts down to the body in the muck. "Alright, now let's see who this poor sad sack is. It'd be a damn shame if he turned out to be the gopher's son."
Gideon walks from the foliage to look over the scene of carnage, new and old and nods. "Very good," he says, "Do gather those scuttlers, I can make a rather phenominal stew from those, if anyone is interested." He circles the marshy bog, examining the half consumed corpse in it, then going back to following tracks. There was one more member of the caravan to account for.
As Lucas flips the body over, he may have some small amount of relief as what greets him is not the face of a gopher being, but rather Andrei, the leopard. The state of the poor being's face and body tells Lucas he may not want to let the sensitive rabbit have a closer look at him. One thing's for sure, he's gone.
Aloysius approaches the being. He seems to be unconscious, or at least asleep. As the squirrel begins to look him over it's clear that he is not in a good state, but luckily the gopher's son seems to have escaped this ordeal with only bruises and minor lacerations.
The squirrel licks his lips after he finishes his inspection of the gopher being. With no medical supplies and no other things to do here, Aloysius hoists up the gopher being in both arms before swinging him over his shoulder in a fireman's lift position, deciding against using air magic for now to avoid startling the creatures. With a deep breath, the squirrel begins exiting the cave, making doubly sure that he does not wake up the mudscuttlers.
Molly turns away, shaking her head slowly as Lucas examines the body in the muck. "Oh, by all the saints I hope that isn't the boy.." she whimpers, fidgeting as she awaits the news. "I can't get the scuttl'rs, it's all muddy," she says aside to Gideon. "No offence, I bet the soup's good."
Lucas sneers and shakes his head then motions to Molly. "It's not him! But... you dont' want to see this!" He turns around and takes his dagger out, plunging it into the meat of one of the mudscuttlers and dragging it up with him as he gets out of the pit. "It's not pretty. Poor fucker." He waves down the elephant as he pulls the dagger free from the mudscuttler. "Here, nice big one for you. I'll head back down to get the other one."
Gideon meets Aloysius at the mouth of the little cave, nearly running over the squirrel as he follows fleeing footprints. The elephant does not bother wasting words, he only helps to carry the unconscious young man. "I believe I have pieced together what happened," he says as they reach the others, "Come along. I believer our work here is finished."
The squirrel carries the sightly shorter being towards the exit before the larger elephant arrives. Aloysius simply nods as he and Gideon carried the being back towards the merchant.
Molly looks down at her bloody arms, holding her hands outstretched in front of her to avoid getting any more on her dress. "I want to go home," is all she has to say, sticking beside Lucas.
Lucas drags up the last mudscuttler with him. He sees Molly's distress over the blood on her and nods his head. "Come on, I'll give you my coat to put on in the wagon. We'll go out later and get you a new dress, and maybe some new weapons too."
Gideon leads the way as the group returns to the cart, carefully helping Aloysius lift the insensate young man into the cart. "They killed each other, I fear," the elephant says, kneeling down in front of Molly and proceeding to gently clean the mudscuttler guts from the poor rabbit's arms with a clean handkerchief, "The caravan seems to have run short on supplies and tried to stretch their rations with a bit of local flora. Unfortunately they chose one of the more exciting varieties." The thin pachydrm points out the sticky residue on the plate he pulled from the wagon earlier. "While I cannot be certain of the exact chain of events," he continues, "I must surmise that the first victim of the hallucenogenic fear from the plants was the muskrat in the supply wagon, who was bound by his still lucid comrades. Then, it all went wrong." He waves a hand at the bodies he has lain neatly on the ground. "It seems that they all attempted to flee or turned on one another," he explains, "Your son just happened to be the last one standing."
The gopher's expression is a mix of joy and shock as he's told of what happened. Part of him is happy that his son is alive, but as he looks out at the bodies that lay broken before him he cannot help but wish things had turned out different somehow. The return trip is filled with tension, the young boy barely clinging to life with the care of the Freeswords that are medically inclined.
It is not until the next day that the Freeswords hear back from the merchant, via a courier. They are paid in full, in fact with a bonus on top, along with a request to keep more sordid details of what took place to themselves. In the end, the young gopher was saved, and in time he would make a full recovery, but the bodies of the other beings in the doomed expedition would serve as a reminder to what a dangerous place Salttide Swamp can be to the unprepared.
